Movie review: The Thirteenth Warriror by John McTiernan

Directed by John McTiernan

Release date: 1999
based on the novel Eaters of the Dead
by Michael Crichton

Genre: historical (?) fiction action film
Cast:

Vladimir Kulich as Buliwyf

Antonio Banderas as Ahmad ibn Fadlan

Omar Sharif as Melchisidek

Diane Venora as Queen Weilew
Clive Russell as Helfdane

Synopsis:

AD 922. Ahmed ibn Fadlan is a court poet to the Caliph of Baghdad—until his amorous encounter with the wife of an influential noble gets him exiled as an "ambassador" to northern barbarians. Traveling with Melchisidek, his caravan is saved from Mongol-Tatar raiders by the appearance of Norsemen. Taking refuge at their settlement on the Volga river, communications are established through Melchisidek and Herger, a Norseman who speaks Vulgar Latin. Ahmed and Melchisidek are in time to witness the fight, which establishes Buliwyf as heir apparent, followed by the Viking funeral of their dead king.

A youth enters the camp requesting Buliwyf's aid: his father's kingdom in the far north is under attack from an ancient evil so frightening that even the bravest warriors dare not name it. The "angel of death," an oracle, determines the mission will be successful if thirteen warriors go to face this danger—but the thirteenth must not be a Norseman. That's how Ahmed is recruited against his will and goes to a completely barbaric land to fight an unknown evil.

Ahmed learns Norse during their journey by listening intently to their conversations. He is looked down upon by the huge Norsemen, who mock his physical weakness and his small Arabian horse, but he earns a measure of respect by his fast learning of their language, his horsemanship, ingenuity, and ability to write.

Reaching King Hrothgar's kingdom, they confirm that their foe is indeed the ancient 'Wendol' - fiends who come with the mist to kill and eat human flesh. In a string of clashes, Buliwyf's band establishes that the Wendol are humanoid cannibals who appear as, live like, and identify with bears. While the group searches through a raided cabin they find a small, headless sculpture of a naked woman's torso, similar to Upper Paleolithic 'venus' figurines. Their numbers dwindling and their position all but indefensible, an ancient wisewoman of the village tells them to track the Wendol to their lair and destroy their leaders, the "Mother of the Wendol" and the war leader who wears "the horns of power".Will they manage to defeat far stronger and completely ruthless opponents? What sacrifice will it take?

My impressions:

I didn't want to watch this movie for a long time. Firstly I read some bad reviews; secondly it featured Mr. Banderas who is not my favourite actor to put it mildly. After a bit of encouragement from The Red Witch, though, I decided to give it a chance. After all it was loosely based on the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, "Beowulf" even if it came via one of Crichton's books, right? "Beowulf" demands some respect and gives hope. Combine it with the fact that I really have a soft spot for epic fantasy movies and here you go - the decision wasn't that dififcult to make. Imagine me watching the movie one rainy May evening. Watching and wondering. 

At first glance the movie was really ok - the atmosphere, the blond, muscled Norsemen, their less-than-hygienic customs, their disregard for death and brutality, the 'oddball' swarthy Arab boy trying to fit in. Still, after watching it I couldn't get over some obvious mistakes which made me think that there were no historians or archeologists, helping the director as consultants. I would sum it up this way: too much Crichton, too little real history.

It is true: the Arabs and Norsemen traded with one another and the contrast must have been interesting. However any history nerd might find out that Hrothgar was a king of Denmark whose chronology was roughly after AD 500. Ahmed ibn Fadlan, a real Arab explorer, flourished circa AD 922. Over 400 years of difference means those two men couldn't possibly have met at all. What's more Ahmed's Islamic faith itself did not exist until after AD 622, so Hrothgar's court could't have encountered any Muslims to begin with. Do you want some more? Here it goes.

On the map at the start of the film Baghdad is in the Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. In reality it is more to the south west of there, on the Tigris River. It is really one of the silliest mistakes I spotted because so easily avoidable - it's enough to check any map. How hard can it be?

 Then our handsome Ahmed encounters a beautiful woman in the street, who is wearing a strange headscarf over the low part of her face. Not only is this clothing not opaque, which is forbidden to Muslim women wearing headscarfs, but it is a Yashmak, worn first by Turkish women only around 1840. And it is brilliant red - a colour no decent Muslim woman would wear publicly. Of course it shows off the pretty, dark eyes of our enchantress so I guess the director didn't think twice about anything as stupid as historical plausibility...

Finally one more jewel in this short collection: before the last fight, Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan invokes God by calling Him 'Father'. Muslims don't address God like this, only Christians do. And do not let me start on the strange and quite stereotypical demonization of the mother goddess - I found it particularly ignorant and wrong. A Celtic tribe with their painted faces, worshipping a female deity, are once again at least a thousand years out of place.

The actors, however, kept the film from becoming too stupid. The acting was much better than average for this sort of film. Dennis Storhøi enthusiasticly portrayed Ahmed's closest friend among the Norsemen, and Vladimir Kulich gave a quiet dignity to his performance as Buliwyf, the leader of the Thirteen. 

Final verdict:

The atmosphere was right, some scenes I really appreciated and enjoyed but overall...At its best (the final battle) , this came close to the beauty and grandeur of a Kurosawa epic - at its worst, however, it felt like a Python remake of The Vikings. Do not expect anything deeper and do not treat the adjective 'historic' too literaly and you'll be fine. Well, as fine as it is possible.

Review: Glow (Sky Chasers #1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Synopsis:

What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth's collapse, the ship's crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader's efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don't know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them...

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he's the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren't all from the outside.

 

This wasn’t an easy read for me. Not only did real life constraints make it difficult for me to find the time to read but the writing itself didn’t exactly suck me in. Ryan’s writing is efficient and it gets the point across but she isn’t a wordsmith like Laini Taylor is. She’s a plotter, and that’s a skill that means more to me than pretty words.

If you’ve read the blurb you know there are two space ships carrying the last vestiges of the human race to a faraway place and that there are two teenagers in the middle of it all. The blurb also promises a love story or a triangle, but it’s hardly mentioned after the set up. It’s the process of growing up in an unlikely situation and learning to take responsibility for one’s actions that dominates the story. That and survival.

I’m not going to talk about the science simply because I decided not to think about it too hard. I’d never been able to finish reading the book had tried. Not that there is much scientific detail to bog down the tragedy of humanity, but there was enough for me to consider it unlikely. That applies both to the space travel as well as to the fertility solution especially considering they were fleeing an environmental catastrophe… I said I wouldn’t talk about it and I won’t. Instead let me introduce you to the main characters.

On the plus column there’s Waverly, an anti-Mary Sue and a very regular sixteen year old girl at the cusp of adulthood. Because of the mission she’s expected to marry and procreate, but she has her doubts. In a way, what was done to her should’ve been a blessing for her and her desire to choose for herself had she actually been given the opportunity. Because she’s still a child she still needs her mother, but because she’s almost an adult she also learns to take care of herself and others, even if there are mistakes made along the way.

On the minus column there’s Kieran. He’s intolerable know-all who goes through a very difficult journey to realise that maybe he doesn’t know it all after all. He too learns from his mistakes even if he’s not ready to face the slippery slope he’s drifted on.

You can invert the columns if you like but you can’t change what dominates them both: Religion. Christianity. The folly of knowing God’s will and imposing it on others. Or simple ambition, thirst for power. And the rejection of it.

Glow reads like a carefully constructed adventure story with each point of view delivering only a sliver of the bigger picture. Both Waverly’s and Kieran’s chapters are subjective to their situation and viewpoint, but it’s the use of third limited that allows the reader enough distance to see through the (obvious) manipulation. Ryan doesn’t shy away from showing flaws and gaping holes in morality in absolutely everyone. Each character is only acting and reacting based on their own experiences. Except when they’re not.

Apart from Waverly, Kieran, and Anne Mather—and you can challenge me on Anne Mather—all other characters are accessories and subject to the whims of the plotter. For example, Ryan tries to justify Seth’s behaviour after the kidnapping in couple of different ways but I didn’t find those reasons completely believable. And unless he gets his own chapters in the following books, I fear he’s doomed to remain a pawn in Waberly and Kieran’s game and the object of their mutual desire.

Glow isn’t an easy read because of its subject matter and real moral dilemmas but it is a book that makes you think. I wasn’t completely sold on the delivery, but I applaud the message.

This recommendation comes with a warning: Glow is the first book of Sky Chasers series of which only first two have been published. The third is expected to be published in 2014.

Rameau's Review Archive: Counterpunch (Belonging #2) by Aleksandr Voinov

Originally posted on Goodreads on Feburary 8th 2013.

Synopsis:
Fight like a man, or die like a slave.

Brooklyn Marshall used to be a policeman in London, with a wife and a promising future ahead of him. Then he accidentally killed a rioter whose father was a Member of Parliament and had him convicted of murder. To ease the burden on the overcrowded prison system, Brooklyn was sold into slavery rather than incarcerated. Now, he's the "Mean Machine", a boxer on the slave prizefighting circuit, pummelling other slaves for the entertainment of freemen and being rented out for the sexual service of his wealthier fans.

When Nathaniel Bishop purchases Brooklyn's services for a night, it seems like any other assignation. But the pair form an unexpected bond that grows into something more. Brooklyn hesitates to call it "love"—such things do not exist between freemen and slaves—but when Nathaniel reveals that he wants to help get Brooklyn's conviction overturned, he dares to hope. Then, an accident in the ring sends Brooklyn on the run, jeopardizing everything he has worked so hard to achieve and sending him into the most important fight of all—the fight for freedom.


Counterpunch by Aleksandr Voinov

This review can also be found on Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell-blog.

Imagine a modern Britain where at least two or three decades ago the politicians gave up on trying to keep up with the ever-growing prison population, chucked the fourth article of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, and started to commute life sentences into slavery. Now people are both born and condemned to it. And it’s not just in Britain, it’s all around the world.

Brooklyn Marshall was born free and worked hard to build a good life for himself. Then a simple mistake, an accident, at the job took all that away from him. He was made into an example and his life was no longer his own. Now he boxes because it’s better than getting shot at in a war zone, and he fucks and is fucked because he is told to. He is used. He’s chattel that can talk.

”You haven’t resigned yourself to slavery yet, have you?”
“No. And I never will.”

It’s cruel to give hope to a such man, but that’s exactly what Nathaniel Bishop does.

I’m not a fan of romanticising slavery, and I’m not a fan of any relationship that’s based on a severe imbalance of power, but I’m always curious to see if the author can make it work. If those obstacles of differing wealth, social status, and culture can be overcome believably. Realistically. Even in urban fantasy.

It works here because Brooklyn has never accepted his status as anything less than a human being. It works because both Brooklyn and Nathaniel recognise how wrong their situation is, and because both are fighters in their own way.

Much of the story focuses on the boxing—again, something I know nothing about—and how it reflects Brooklyn’s growth as a character. He’ll never see any of the winnings, but the fighting he does is for himself. He’s broken and beaten both in the ring and out, and he is affected by it, but he’s also a survivor. What doesn’t kill him makes him stronger, and the final fights show this vividly.

If I hadn’t struggled with the beginning of the story—it was good but not amazing—the ending would have earned Counterpunch its fifth star. Voinov opted out of the fanciful and kept it realistic.

P.S. The story includes triggers for <spoiler>    rape    </spoiler>.

Review: Blood of Victory by Alan Furst

Book info:

Form: e-book, pdf

Target audience: adults

Genre: historical spy thriller (WWII)

Synopsis:

Blood of Victory is a panoramic novel, moving between Istanbul, Bucharest, Paris, Sofia and the Black Sea coast, involving German Nazi officers,Turkish secret police, Russian chekhists, French aristocrats, Roumanian millionaires, Polish exiles and British spies.

The story begins on a Black Sea freighter in the winter of 1940. I.A. Serebin, half-Russian half-Jewish poet and journalist, is on his way to Istanbul to effect the release of a former lover. He is a member of the International Russian Union, an organization of Russians living abroad during the first part of World War II. The novel brings Serebin and his protector, police officer Ascher Levitch, into contact with a foreign espionage network centred in the Russian emigre communities of Paris, Berlin and Belgrade, as well as in Odessa itself. Serebin conspires and contrives to muck up Nazi access to the Romanian oil - a commodity they desperately need to win the war.The title refers to a statement at a 1918 oil conference: "Oil, the blood of the earth, in the time of war, has become the blood of victory." Very fitting. 

What I liked:

I jumped right in the middle of that series (and rather closer to the end than to the beginnnig as far as I know); still I had no problems whatsoever with the narration and the plot. In fact I found out the book belongs to a series only when I finished it! Though the outcome was generally predictable, the route to the final showdown was intriguing and told in a beautiful, engaging way.I truly admired Furst's ability to  portray so eloquently the atmosphere of insecurity and instability of the times, and to take the reader deeper into the shadows behind events than he or she may ever have been. There are scenes which make you want to slow down, pay attention and reread, time and again.

I have to admit the secondary characters stole the show a bit - especially the eastern Europeans in 'Blood' are marvelous characters, in particular two wild and wooly Serbian air force pilots and the Hungarian husband-and-wife team who run a tug up and down the Danube.

This main strength of Alan Furst's historical spy novels I suppose, is presenting real people, not imaginary master spies, the best, the fastest, the most efficient.  Instead  these are people with whom we can empathize, whose fears and wants sound like our own.

What I didn't like:

I admit that for most of the novel I wondered about the main protagonist - what made him tick, what were his goals and dreams, what motivated him to fight against the Germans and their powerful war machine to the point of endangering his life. I am sorry to say I didn't get the answer - not really. Seriebin seems to be partly frozen, wading through life as if in a coma; his emotions are stunted even if he goes to bed with beautiful Marie-Galante or he finds out that his former lover died of pneumonia.

I like books written in a "mysterious" and "dark" style but, in my humble opinion, it doesn't have to entail that most of the time the reader cannot figure out exactly what why the characters do what they do or even who they are. Complex and oblique? Not a problem.Just plain confusing? No, thanks.

Final verdict:

I think I am willing to give this series one more chance to charm me and get me addicted. Perhaps it was a mistake, starting in the middle? Anyway it's always a pleasure to read such a quality prose, even if the characters are a bit stolid and tepid.

Rameau's Review Archive: Skybound by Aleksandr Voinov

Originally posted on Goodreads January 13th 2013.

Synopsis:
Germany, 1945. The Third Reich is on its knees as Allied forces bomb Berlin to break the last resistance. Yet on an airfield near Berlin, the battle is far from over for a young mechanic, Felix, who’s attached to a squadron of fighter pilots. He’s especially attached to fighter ace Baldur Vogt, a man he admires and secretly loves. But there’s no room for love at the end of the world, never mind in Nazi Germany.

When Baldur narrowly cheats death, Felix pulls him from his plane, and the pilot makes his riskiest move yet. He takes a few days’ leave to recover, and he takes Felix with him. Away from the pressures of the airfield, their bond deepens, and Baldur shows Felix the kind of brotherhood he’d only ever dreamed of before.

But there’s no escaping the war, and when they return, Baldur joins the fray again in the skies over Berlin. As the Allies close in on the airfield where Felix waits for his lover, Baldur must face the truth that he is no longer the only one in mortal danger. 


Skybound by Aleksandr Voinov

World War II fantasy love story between two men.

That’s the shortest summary I can think of for this lovely little novella. I don’t know enough about planes and I’ve mostly forgotten the details of war I learned on my history lessons to really gripe about the historical accuracy, but the weekend holiday, the family gamekeeper connections, and the ending did stretch my suspend disbelief abilities. That’s why there’s the word fantasy in my nine word summary.

And as the story didn’t wow me, three stars.

Movie review: The Fall by Tarsem Singh

Directed by Tarsem Singh

Release date: 2006

Cast:

 Roy Walker the stuntman - Lee Pace

Alexandria - Cantinca Untaru

Nurse Evelyn - Justine Waddell

Sinclair / Governor Odious -Daniel Caltagirone  

1915, the dawn of Hollywood. Roy, a movie stuntman, was gravely injured by an on-set mishap involving a horsebacked train-trestle tumble. Now he languishes in an LA hospital. He's become paraplegic, his beloved has broken his heart so he is deeply depressed and wants to commit a suicide. In order to get hold of a lethal dose of morphine he unspools tall tales to a five-year-old orphan girl called Alexandria from another ward. These two share with us the images they conjure up in their minds' eye – huge vistas, storybook heroism and colours so vivid they seem unreal. But of course every tale must reach its conclusion. Will it be Roy's untimely death? Will  Alexandria manage to save him from his demons, pulling him out of his slump ?

What I liked:

This movie is like candy to the eyes. Profiting from jaw-dropping Indian locations, the film dazzles like few others. Small wonder - it was shot in over 20 countries and its commitment to the wonders of the real world is refreshing.It can be actually called a 'two films in one' combo as the narration is divided into several threads. It is also very original, featuring animated sequences, waterborne pachyderms (but hey, the elephants really can swim!), and a drolly humorous imagining of a monkey-conversant Charles Darwin who is wearing a coat (?) worth an exotic parrot. And a bowler hat (see the pic on the left).

Crammed with vivid images of deserts, palaces, magical reefs,  historical figures (also Alexander the Great drops by) and famous landmarks (blink and you'll miss the Blue City in Rajastan or the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal or the Statue of Liberty or the pyramids or the Great Wall), it comes down to earth long enough to establish a connection between two unlikely pals: a little unaffected but spunky girl and a young, disillusioned man, suffering from classic depression.

The power of imagination is the greatest asset of this movie. The year is 1915, but with Roy sharing stories as seductively as Scheherezade, the pair can be anywhere/anytime: jumping into the ring with Roman gladiators, matching wits with an ancient conqueror, battling the evil Governor Odious or transforming themselves into the Black Bandit and his tiny daughter in matching outfits of black and gold.Their story seems to include tall tales of Zorro, Ali Baba and Pecos Bill rolled into one. It was a fun ride - I appreciated evrey minute of it! 

What I didn't like:

Once you’ve been dazzled, that’s it. The pacing dragged after a while and the clichéd tussle between childhood innocence and adult disillusionment can only go one way. The story did lack some depths, being a bit too thin for adults and a bit too dark for kids.While every frame looked drop-dead gorgeous, Tarsem struggled to string them together in a logic way. The feature which disturbed me the most was the fact that there was no overriding tone to this film, which jumped from slapstick comedy to travelogue documentary to wrenching drama. It seems there was no real sense of suspense in the plot and the ending hardly provided any lasting conclusion because we weren't shown whether Alexandria's version of events was true or false.

Final verdict:

A treat in a static kind of way - visually superb but with a shallow story at its core. Still one of the most original movies I've seen this year.You might want to see it for no other reason than because it exists.

Review: Among the Living (PsyCop 01) by Jordan Castillo Price

Book info:Form: pdf e-book
Genre: urban fantasy/paranormal m/m romance/crime story
Target audience: adults

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Victor Bayne, the psychic half of a PsyCop team, is a gay medium who’s more concerned with flying under the radar than in making waves. He hooks up with handsome Jacob Marks, a non-psychic (or “Stiff”) from an adjacent precinct at his ex-partner’s retirement party and it seems like his dubious luck has taken a turn for the better. But then a serial killer surfaces who can change his appearance to match any witness’ idea of the world’s hottest guy.

Solving murders is a snap when you can ask the victims whodunit, but this killer’s not leaving any spirits behind. What's wrong?

What I liked:

I am not a fan of romance. I am definitely not a fan of m/m paranormal romance. My first impression was I wasn't going to like it. Vic hops on the first page higher than a kite and not ashamed or worried about it (as he is officially allowed to take drugs). Marks, Vic's crush, seems at first a bit too power-crazy and domineering for my taste, not to mention the fact that he is a gym rat through and through. I still ended up liking this novel quite a lot, all things considered. Why?

 Firstly it was an original idea, to present psychics not as shadowy charlatans they normally are (my skewed opinion of course) but as rare professionals whose talents are much sought-after by different government agencies, police and intelligence services among them. Accordingly Victor Bayne is a PsyCop, working with the local Chicago police force, with the ability to see and communicate with the dead. Imagine that: he arrives at a crime scene and he can actually see and sometimes even talk with the victim. He can't do anything else but his brains and intelligence make him more than just a level 5 medium. Detective Bayne also investigates and solves crimes - quite a nice surprise.

Apart from that Victor has one of the most fascinating narrative voices I've met recently.He's been through a lot, firstly diagnosed as schisophrenic and institutionalized, then closed in Camp Hell, where his unusual skills were supposed to be honed and developped and where he suffered mental and physical abuse. It left him scarred, perhaps for life. Now he is not bothered by his flaws and moderately interested in what happens around him if he's not involved. He keeps himself to himself. He is raw honest and not ashamed of practically anything = a flawed hero I like. And of course he has his secrets, not to be revealed to anyone, among them the true scope of his possibilities.

He is paired with Jacob Marks, "a big, strapping guy with a deep voice and a piercing gaze that could nail you to the wall." It is evident what those two see in each other: Vic, emotionally unstable and physically weaker, is looking for protection against the ugly world around him. Jacob admires Vic's skills when it comes to the souls of the departed, even though he is the elegant, smart and fitness-club-poster muscled one. Their love story started a bit too suddenly for me (but I suppose it will be explained in more detail later) but then it was surprisingly sweet and steamy for an m/m romance arc. Yes, the sex is rather prominent but the book actually has an interesting plot as well so I became a very tollerant and patient reader all of a sudden.

Finally let me say that I liked Lisa Guttierez - an  interesting albeit secondary character with an unusual gift. I do hope to meet her again.

What I didn't like:

My slight disappointment with this one was the showdown. Spoiler, highlight to read: so there is that shape-changing incubus which explodes, end of the story. That’s it? Really? That's all you've got? Oh, right…still a little anti-climactic. I wish there was a little more world building as well but I keep in mind the fact that it is just a beginning of a series so there is some hope. Let me also add that the sex scenes sometimes bordered on too descriptive, even gratuitous, but perhaps it's just me.

Final verdict:

There is so much scope for this author to build on.I have a feeling that if I continue with the series that Jacob and Vic will grow on me...considering that I really do like flawed characters and urban fantasy, even if it comes with m/m flavour.